Friday, 31 October 2014

A
story that addresses the opinion that says:

“I believe in God, yet not in the
Church.”

In a particular neighbourhood,
in an old mansion that was seven stories high, lived a father, his son, and the
son’s mother. Throughout the neighbourhood this family was highly regarded and
esteemed, because of their loving nature and hospitality which welcomed all
people of every race and class. One day a new man, who was relatively young and
lived on his own, moved into the neighbourhood; and upon hearing about this
saintly family he decided to pay them a visit. The following morning after
making this resolution, the man walked to this family’s home and knocked on
their door. At once they opened the door, embraced him as their own, and gave him
food and drink, and all the love and attention they could give him. He remained
there all day, and because it had gotten late, the man reluctantly forced
himself to leave in the evening, against the pleas of the family who begged him
to stay on a little longer. Upon arriving at his home a haunting silence
surrounded him, and all of a sudden he felt very lonely and sad. “But there I
was so loved,” he said to himself; “I must return, for these people mean so
much to me and I to them.”

The following morning he ran straight to the
family’s home and there they were delighted to see him. He spent the entire day
with them and together they laughed and shared food, stories, and drink. And so
it happened that as night approached the man would return to his home, only to
return again the following morning. This he did for many weeks, and never did
the family grow tired of him and nor did he of them. For every moment they all
spent together seemed like a dream of pleasantness; and constantly they grew in
love for one another.

However as a month passed, the
man started to notice that certain sections of the family’s home were in disrepair.
The ceiling in some rooms had water damage, the walls in certain places were
chipped, and some of the family’s furniture was old and tattered; and there was
one particular room that was repugnant with the smell of damp carpet and excessive
mould. At first the man was so rapt with the members of the family that he
had not been troubled by the poor condition of sections of the house. Yet after
he first began to notice, slowly he became aware of fault after fault, until
such thoughts plagued his mind.

And so it was that one morning
he knocked upon the door of the family’s home; yet whilst welcoming him in as they
usually did, he refused the invitation, and at once all the joy left each of the
faces of the family. “I
cannot and will not come into your house any more” spoke the man; “for it is a
rotten old place. However do not take offense, for I still want to see you, and
so if you would like to find a better home I will spend time with you there.” After
gathering himself together the father said to the man: “I know my family’s home is
not the most luxurious or perfect of places, yet the foundation is pure marble and is solid; and day
by day we renovate. This is our home and we cannot live anywhere else, we have
always dwelt here and always will. So please, can you not look past the faults
of our home? For we would love for you to come and dwell with us, and stay with
us. You will be a son to me and the son of my spouse, and will be as the
brother of my son. What do you say my child?” “I cannot and I will not, for I
despise your home and disagree with it. Make me your son without having me
dwell with you in this old place” replied the man. “This cannot be so” replied
the father, as tears trickled down his face. “For how can you be my son when you
spurn me and my family because of the tattered aspects of my home?” “But I love
you! It is just your home that I hate!” shouted the man earnestly. “You do not love
me, and nor do you love my son or my spouse. For you would love this home for
our sake if you truly loved us. This home is one with us, and we are one with
it. You reject our home, and so it is that you reject we who live here. We love
you, but now we know that you never really loved us at all; you merely loved
what you could get out of us. Goodbye my child, I pray you would change your
mind and would come to live with us one day.” And at that the family went away,
retreating into their home. Yet the father did not close the door and he never
did from that day on. The man went away.

Brief
Narrative Commentary

It is always best when stories
are not interpreted for an individual in advance. However if done sparingly and
in the right manner, such interpretations can help the reader draw greater
profit from the story, especially if they are unfamiliar with a particular theological
context.

The saintly family is in its primary
and deeper sense an allegory of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit; whilst on another level, it can be interpreted as the Triune God as
manifested in the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph; with Mary a living
mirror of the Holy Spirit, and St. Joseph a living mirror of God the Father. Whilst
Jesus is in His Humanity a mirror of the Triune Godhead, yet being one in
nature with the Godhead, unlike Mary and Joseph who share in Godlikeness not in
nature but by grace. Perhaps also, the saintly family could be an allegory of
the Triune God as operating within the Church Militant (the Church on earth).
Thus from this perspective perhaps one could view the father as the office of
the Papacy, the mother as the teachings of the Church and the son as the office
of the ministerial (ordained) priesthood.

Simply speaking, the young man
is symbolic of the person who believes in God and considers themselves to love
God, and yet who rejects, renounces and/or despises the Church, believing it to
be unnecessary and man-made. Such an individual often has many fair reasons for
this perspective, since they look at the many wicked people that have or do
belong to the Church, or they look at the wicked things many have done in the
name of the Church; and therefore they conclude that the Church is evil,
redundant, separate from God and obviously man-made, since how could the Church
be like this if it were made by God? Yet this story seeks to challenge this
perspective; affirming that the Church is Holy because of Christ (foundation), and whilst many of Her members (on earth in the Church Militant) remain sinful (tattered aspects of the
home); regardless, the truth is that God (i.e. the father, mother, and son) efficaciously
dwells in and works through His Church by the power of the Holy Spirit (seven
gifts of the Spirit) and in the Seven Sacraments (i.e. seven stories of the
mansion), in providing love and care to the members of His Church (i.e.
guests).

The old mansion, house and
home refers to the Catholic Church, which means, the Universal Church (see bellow for quotations). This is
the Church founded by Christ Jesus when He lived on earth, and traces its
origins to Peter the Apostle who was the first Pope [click here for a historical list of all the Popes]. Thus Jesus said to Peter: “That
thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18). And here
Jesus refers to Peter as the Rock of the Church and not exclusively Himself
(although it is Christ in Peter that makes him the rock), since in another
Gospel Jesus says: “Thou art Simon the son of Jona. Thou shalt be called Cephas
[which means rock in Aramaic], which is interpreted Peter.” (Jn 1:42). So it is
that the solid pure marble stone of the house (Church) refers to the Papacy and
the Magisterium and its infallibility[1]
in regards to teachings on faith and morals. For as Paul says in Ephesians, the
Church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ep 2:20). So
it is that on this foundation, the Church, no matter how many wicked people are
within it or seek to destroy it, will always endure and remain faithful in
dogma and doctrine to the message of the Gospel: both Written and Oral. Since
it is written: “And the rain fell, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell
not, for it was founded on a rock.” (Mt 7:25). Furthermore, Jesus says “thou art Peter; and upon this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Mt 16:18). Besides the proof of Scripture -proof for those who believe- history and the current state of
the Church speaks loudly enough on this point. For what institution, unless it
was sustained supernaturally, could endure and remain for over 2000 years, teaching
the same message and carrying on the same spiritual Traditions, when in the earthly realm it is almost
filled with the most inadequate and worst of people. No cooperation would last more
than a decade in the same situation; so truly it is a mark of the Divine.

Yet primarily the foundation
of solid pure marble stone is Christ Himself, and it is with, in and through
Him that the Papacy and the Magisterium (Bishops in union with the Pope) form
part of this foundation stone also. Thus one comes to an understanding why it
is said that Christ is the Foundation stone in one place: “For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid: which
is Christ Jesus.” (1 Cor 3:11); and the apostles and prophets in another
place: “Built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets” (Ep 2:20). It is thus because of Christ –the solid
pure marble stone- that no matter how wicked the members of the Church are (the
tattered aspects of the home), the Church remains Holy, because although filled
with a mingling of saints and sinners, Christ is Holy and nothing can stain
this holiness. This is why this foundation stone is referred to as pure marble stone; for Christ is Purity
Itself, and His Holiness as the Immutable God cannot be marred. This foundation
stone is referred to as marble stone
for it was marble stone that paved the floor of the Temple of Solomon (2 Chron
3:6), and Christ is the living fulfillment of such pavement which formed the
place where the men of old could meet with God; for in Christ the pure marble stone we meet with the
Triune God (symbolised by the saintly family in the story) within the Church,
no matter how disheveled the members of the Church may be –the ceiling, walls
and rooms of the house. Since all aspects of the house draw their value from
Christ the foundation stone, and not the other way around. Is not this exemplified
by the fact that no matter how sinful a priest may be –even if he is in the
state of mortal sin- when he performs the consecration over the bread and wine
by invoking the Holy Spirit, they still become the Body and Blood of Christ (Ex opere operato).

The father in the
story tells the man that when he rejects his home, he also rejects himself and
his entire family, for he and his family are one with their home. Since indeed a
home is what it is, not because of the building itself, but because of the
union between the building and those who live there. This is analogous of how
God and the Church are one, because the Church is His spiritual home, and is His
adopted family by grace. Concerning the oneness of the Church with God it is
written: “For this reason a man shall
leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh.” This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to
Christ and the church” (Eph 5:31-32). So it is that if one rejects the
Church, one rejects God. We draw clarity from the Douay-Rheims translation of
the final verse above: “This is a great
sacrament: but I speak in Christ and in the church.” (Eph 5:32). Wherefore the union between
the Church and Christ is sacramental; thus the Church is a Sacrament; and what
is a sacrament? An efficacious instrument of grace and means of relating with
God (CCC 772-776). So it is that through the Church, man comes to Christ, and
through Christ man comes to God and thus spiritualising the language of the
story: without the Home one cannot really be in union with the Trinitarian Family,
He who is One God yet Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And finally, note how in the story the family did not ask the man to become perfect before coming to abide in their home, but rather they accepted him as he was, all they asked was for him to accept themselves and their home, and to look past the faults of the home for the sake of love of them. In the same manner, God does not ask man to become perfect before coming to Him and before becoming a member of the Church; rather all He asks is for us to come to Him as we are; to turn away from our old ways -our old homes- and come to dwell with Him; whilst loving our neighbour and the Church, bearing with all faults out of love for Him. And so our Triune God calls out to each soul:"Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline
thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father’s house. And the king shall
greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God" (Ps 45:10-11a). Wherefore this invitation of
love -to love and to be loved- fulfils the desire of each soul, a desire which
many repress yet some allow to surface and be thus satisfied: "One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord...[and] feast and rejoice before God: and [so] be delighted with gladness. [And may
come to] taste and see that the Lord is
sweet" (Ps 27:4-5a, 68:3, 34:8). Since after all, "God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep
we might live with him." and thus have life and have it to the full (1
Thes 5:9-10; Jn 10:10).

Several relevant excerpts
from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

What does
"catholic" mean?

830 The word "catholic" means
"universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or
"in keeping with the whole." The Church is catholic in a double
sense:

First, the
Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. "Where there is
Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church." In her subsists the fullness
of Christ's body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him
"the fullness of the means of salvation"308 which he has
willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and
ordained ministry in apostolic succession. The Church was, in this fundamental
sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost and will always be so until the day of
the Parousia [Second Coming].

831 Secondly, the Church is catholic because she
has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race:

Who belongs
to the Catholic Church?

836 "All men are called to this catholic unity of the
People of God. . . . And to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the
Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind,
called by God's grace to salvation."

838 "The Church knows that she is joined in many ways
to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess
the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under
the successor of Peter." Those "who believe in Christ and have been
properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the
Catholic Church." With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so
profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a
common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist."

Several relevant excerpts
from Lumen Gentium:

(6).Often the Church has also been called the building of God. (34) The Lord
Himself compared Himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was
made into the cornerstone. (35) On this foundation the Church is built by the
apostles, (36) and from it the Church receives durability and consolidation. This
edifice has many names to describe it: the house of God (37) in which dwells His
family; the household of God in the Spirit; (38) the dwelling place of God among
men; (39) and, especially, the holy temple. This Temple, symbolized in places of
worship built out of stone, is praised by the Holy Fathers and, not without
reason, is compared in the liturgy to the Holy City, the New Jerusalem (5*). As
living stones we here on earth are built into it. (40) John contemplates this
holy city coming down from heaven at the renewal of the world as a bride made
ready and adorned for her husband.

(8).While Christ, holy, innocent and undefiled (81) knew nothing of sin, (82) but came
to expiate only the sins of the people,(83) the Church, embracing in its bosom
sinners, at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, always
follows the way of penance and renewal. The Church, "like a stranger in a
foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the
consolations of God"(14*), announcing the cross and death of the Lord until
He comes."(84) By the power of the risen Lord it is given strength that it
might, in patience and in love, overcome its sorrows and its challenges, both
within itself and from without, and that it might reveal to the world,
faithfully though darkly, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it will be
manifested in full light.

(Italics added).

[1]Infallibility
in regards to faith and morals means that the Holy Spirit will not allow the
Church to deviate in her official teaching from the Truth revealed by Christ
Jesus, and that an official understanding of this Truth which develops over the
ages, will not err either. This does not mean that the members of the Church
will deviate in practice from this official teaching however.(CCC 888-892).

Sunday, 26 October 2014

A Mystagogical and Speculative Theological Catholic Perspective

Drawing from the
Jewish roots of the Faith

The following draws explicitly and implicitly from such primary sources as Scripture, Catholic Tradition, Teaching and the writings of the Saints along with secondary sources such as the Jewish Oral Torah from Orthodox Jewish perspectives (and not from the malign perspective of the New Age), and the Divine Will spirituality and private revelations of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta [read more].

Contents

i.Introduction

I.Eucharistic Benediction & the Shaking of the Lulav
& Etrog

II.Lulav as Yesod & Etrog as Tiferet: Bride & Bridegroom

III.Joseph, Rachel & Jacob; Jesus, Mary & Joseph

IV.Behold Jacob, Joseph & Rachel

V.Genesis-Jacob meets Rachel: An Archetype of Joseph and Mary

VI.The Pillars: Malkut-Yesod-Tiferet-Keter

VII.The Significance of 36: Lulav, Etrog and Divine Will

VIII.The Spiritual Fecundity and Blessings of the Divine Will

IX.Final Notations Concerning the Lulav and the Etrog

i.Introduction

The lulav is one of the Four Species (arba minim) used during Succoth (The Feast of Tabernacles); with
the other three: the myrtle (hadas),
the willow (aravah) and the etrog (citron). The lulav refers both to the lulav
itself and to the myrtle (three branches bound together) and willow (two
branches bound together) when all bound together. Each of the seven days of Succoth
(except the Sabbath) the blessing for the arba
minim takes place, and this is customarily proceeded by the waving or
shaking of the lulav and the etrog in all six directions, shaking it
trice in each direction: east, west, south, north, up and down. During the
blessing, in one’s left hand, the stem of the etrog is to point up; and afterwards (during the waving of the arba minim) the stem is to point down.

Often the Arba minim are associated with various parts of the body of
Adam-Kadmon, which is the mystical ‘blue-print of humanity’ in a sense. Which
as Catholic’s we would associate with the humanity of Jesus (Yeshua) and Mary
(Miriam); and even with the Mystical Body of Christ the Church. The Arba minim are also associated with the
Divine Name: YHVH.

SpeciesBody PartDivine Name

Hadas/Myrtle-Eyes -Yod

Aravah/Willow-Lips-Hey

Lulav-Spine-Vav

Etrog-Heart-Hey

The six directions correspond
with six of the Sephira:

EastTiferet-Beauty:Jacob

SouthChessed-Loving
Kindness:Abraham

WestYesod-Foundation:Joseph

NorthGevurah-Justice:Isaac

UpNetzach-Victory:Moses

DownHod-Glory:Aaron

I.Eucharistic Benediction & the Shaking of the Lulav & Etrog

The Eucharist is the New Covenant fulfillment of the etrog, and the
monstrance can be likened to the lulav.
Thus Eucharistic Benediction (the blessing of the people with the Eucharist) is
a fulfilment of the ritual of the shaking of the arba minim. Since the priest raises the monstrance up off the altar,
then he blesses the people with the Sign of the Cross in all four directions,
and then he places it back down upon the altar. Of course this does not mean
that the blessing and the ritual of the arba
minim has been superseded, but rather that it is a devotion which points to
and cultivates an understanding of the Eucharistic Mystery especially
Eucharistic Benediction.

II.Lulav as Yesod & Etrog as Tiferet: Bride & Bridegroom

The lulav is Yesod (foundation). The etrog is tifferet (beauty). The lulav
is Yesod because it is shaped like a phallus. The lulav thus represents the Shecken, the male presence of the Blessed
Holy One: that is Jesus Ha-Mashiach. The etrog
is tifferet because it is shaped like a heart and like a womb or torso. The etrog thus represents the Shekinah, the
feminine presence of the Blessed Holy One: that is the Holy Spirit and the
Blessed Virgin Mary. The lulav is
held in the right hand during the blessing, because it is primarily associated
with the masculine. The etrog is held
in the left hand during the blessing, because it is primarily associated with
the feminine.

The lulav is the bridegroom. The etrog
is the bride. Thus when one waves the lulav
and the etrog in the six directions,
this symbolises the mystical dance between the bridegroom and the bride (on the literal level this occurs at an Orthodox Jewish wedding: Mitzvah tanz). This
mystical dance is the virginal union between Yesod and tifferet which are as
one, for it is written: “and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24b). It is
thus that the lulav and the etrog are brought together side by side
when one performs the blessing and carries out the ceremonial waving. Through the
blessing of the SupernalLulav with the SupernalEtrog, which the lulav ritual symbolises; Tiferet is
united with Yesod, which is to say, that the womb of one’s soul is united with
the Divine in a mystical conjugal act. This interior fusion of Yesod’s purity
with Tiferet’s beauty culminates in the most sublime act of Divine Intimacy,
wherefore one enters into the highest state of holiness –that of living in
Divine Will (Keter- the Sephira associated with Divine Will, Razon).

III.Joseph, Rachel & Jacob; Jesus, Mary & Joseph

The name Rachel[1]
has its roots in the word for womb, since Rachel (Resh-Chet-Lamed) is akin to
the beginning of the word womb which is rechem
(Resh-Chet-Mem).[2] The
end of the name Rachel, ‘El’ is the masculine name for God (Aleph-Lamed:
Strong’s 410). Thus literally Rachel can be interpreted to mean ‘Womb of God’
which can be a figurative way of saying: ‘Mother of God’. Tiferet as mentioned
above is associated with womb, and likewise in turn with the etrog. However Yesod and Tiferet though
distinct, are inseparable in a single union, and thus they are as one. This is
reiterated by the fact that the lulav is
associated with the spine, which not only represents Yesod as pillar or phallus
(which are both spine shaped), but Tiferet, since Tiferet is often associated
with the spine.How can this mystery
be understood? Both Jacob and Rachel are associated with Tiferet, yet Rachel (primarily
associated with Shekinah/Malkut) is only associated with Tiferet through Yesod
which is associated with their son Joseph. This is archetypal of the Holy
Family, wherefore in this particular instance Jacob is a type of St. Joseph,
Rachel of Mary and Joseph of Jesus. This also bears Trinitarian allusions; with
Jacob, Rachel and Joseph an icon of Joseph, Mary and Jesus; and Joseph, Mary
and Jesus (in His Humanity) an icon of the Holy Trinity: Father, Spirit and
Son.

For the sake of simplicity
Jacob, Rachel and Joseph will be utilised as the primary motif in this
paragraph, bearing in mind their representations. The outer-face of the etrog represents the bridegroom and
father Jacob (Tiferet) together with Abraham (Hesed), who both form the
masculine face of the heart of Tiferet (Hesed-Tiferet: Loving Kindness or Mercy
fused with Beauty). Whilst the inner-face of the etrog represents the bride and mother Rachel (Shekinah) together
with Isaac (Gevurah/Din), who both form the feminine face of the heart of
Tiferet yet only through Joseph-Yesod (Shekinah/Malkut-Gevurah: The feminine Presence
of God fused with Justice).[3]
Although Jacob and Rachel united with each other many times in the martial act,
it was only once their first child Joseph was born that their oneness took
flesh in Joseph himself. It is thus that the lulav, Yesod and Joseph, unite the inner and outer face of the etrog, Tiferet. Through the Yesod of
Joseph therefore, not only does the Tiferet of Jacob find its union with the
Shekinah of Rachel, but through the Yesod of Joseph the Tiferet of Jacob and
the Shekinah of Rachel find their union with the Hesed of Abraham and the
Gevurah of Isaac; which is to say that through and in the offspring of Joseph
(the offspring or son of the covenant) the promised seed of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob is fulfilled.

IV.Behold Jacob, Joseph & Rachel

Whilst it is Yesod-Joseph who
unites Tiferet-Jacob with Shekinah-Rachel, it is Shekinah-Rachel who unites Tiferet
and Yesod, Jacob and Joseph; since the wife and mother is the bond between
father and son. In Kabbalah[4]
the Sephirah of Malkut or Shekinah is primarily associated with the feminine;
whilst Tiferet and Yesod are deemed to possess a balance of both the feminine
and masculine. Yet when Tiferet and Yesod are associated with Shekinah, they
are considered to be the male counterparts to the feminine Shekinah; and this
befits the allegory of Jacob and Joseph with Rachel. This is interesting
because the etrog understood as the
heart is associated primarily with the Sephirah of Tiferet, and thus with Jacob.
Jacob is in this sense the etrog. The
lulav is shaped like a phallus and is
thus Yesod; yet the lulav is generally
associated with the spine-Tiferet, however this is one way of saying that Jacob
is in Joseph; that the spine –the uprightness and righteousness of Abraham and Isaac
that was in Jacob- is in Joseph and in his phallus, his loins. Joseph is thus
in this sense the lulav. Yet what
about Rachel? Let us come to that now:

Holding the etrog in his left hand the rabbi said:
“Behold, Jacob.” Then holding the lulav
in his right hand he said: “Behold, Joseph.” And then drawing his hands together,
and gesturing with his eyes to both the etrog
and the lulav he said: “Behold,
Rachel.”

How can this be so? For Rachel
is one in flesh with Jacob as is a wife to her husband; and because Rachel is
one in flesh with Joseph as is a mother to her son. Indeed in understanding
Rachel as a type of Mary, Jacob as St. Joseph and Joseph as Jesus we gain
insight into a deep mystery. Now Rachel is the etrog in the sense that she is the womb of Jacob and the heart of
Jacob (with womb and heart both associated with Tiferet). Whilst Rachel is the lulav in the sense that she is the mouth
and eyes of Joseph (with mouth associated with the willow of the lulav and the eyes with the myrtle of
the lulav). Wherefore it is written
in the Zohar: “Jacob gazed upon Joseph,
his soul was fulfilled as if he had seen his mother –for the beauty of Joseph
resembled the beauty of Rachel.”[5]
And this can be understood to mean that Joseph had the eyes and lips of Rachel,
for it was the myrtle of her eyes that pierced Jacob’s heart, and the willow of
her lips that overcame him (Gen 29:10-11). Furthermore, considering Rachel as
an Old Testament icon of the Holy Spirit, Jacob as an icon of God the Father
and Joseph as an icon of God the Son, we glean a further abundance of understanding.
Perhaps it might be argued that this metaphor is a poorly insufficient allegory
of the Trinity, yet although poor it is not entirely insufficient for the rest
of our fictional rabbi’s metaphor is as follows:

After a brief
pause, whilst his student remained puzzled, the rabbi whilst gesturing with his
eyes to both the etrog and the lulav which were held together one in
each hand, said: “Behold, Jacob” and then after another brief pause, with the
same gesture: “Behold, Joseph.” “But together the lulav and etrog are but
one, how can they be three?” “It is a mystery but what you said is Truth”
replied the rabbi.

V.Genesis-Jacob meets Rachel: An Archetype of Joseph and Mary

The following is the account from Genesis where Jacob
meets Rachel; wherefore we can draw insight into Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Now when Jacob
saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban
his mother's brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well's mouth,
and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud. (Gen 29:10-11).

Now when Jacob saw Rachel –that is to say, when St. Joseph saw
Mary- he beheld the three sparkling lights (the Glorious Trinity) in the
reflection of the moon of her countenance, along with the multitude of the stars of his spiritual
decedents, the Church –the sheep of Laban
his mother’s brother.

Jacob went up –which is to say that by St. Joseph’s righteousness, avowal
to virginity, and bold confidence in prayer with God, he removed the stone that
covered the mouth of the well; that mouth below of the New Rachel’s (Mary’s)
womb which was sealed in virginity and was opened figuratively to the Holy
Spirit thus allowing the possibility for the waters of the New Joseph (Jesus)
to enter into the world. For only through St. Joseph and his cooperation with
grace and with God’s plan for the Incarnation, was it possible for the Virgin
Mary to bear the upper waters of the Torah, the Word, in Her Immaculate Womb.
On this matter St. Francis de Sales writes: “she belonged to him and was
planted right close to him like a glorious palm tree near her own beloved palm
tree, which, according to the design of divine Providence, could not and ought
not produce fruit [Jesus] unless it be in his shadow and in his sight.”[6]

And watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother –which is to
say that through St. Joseph, God the Father gave to drink the waters of the
Mashiach and of the Divine Will (Razon, Keter) to their –Joseph and Mary’s- future
spiritual offspring –Israel the Church, especially those who come to live in Divine Will- and in advance to Mary the New Rachel.
For Rachel means ewes, which is the
plural of female sheep, thus indeed Rachel along with the flock must have drank
from this water too, a water foreshadowing that Celestial Water to be consumed
by the Supernal Rachel.

Then Jacob kissed Rachel –which is to say that then St. Joseph
pronounced his Fiat in remaining married and not divorcing the Virgin Mary the
New Rachel, and by this he consented to the mystery of the Incarnation; which
although had already occurred, since it says: “fear not to take unto thee Mary
thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her, is of the Holy Ghost.” (Mt 1:20); this mystery of the Incarnation only
took place because God knew in Divine Foresight that Joseph would pronounce his
Fiat. A Fiat fused with the Fiat of God the Father that Eternally Begot the Son;
so that Joseph’s Fiat that was pronounced in time, through eternity became one
with the Fiat of Mary, and thus these two Fiat’s together came to bear the fruit
of the Incarnation of the Living Torah who is the Word. As St. John Paul II
declared: “And while it is important for the Church to profess the virginal
conception of Jesus, it is no less important to uphold Mary's marriage to Joseph,
because juridically Joseph's fatherhood depends on it.”[7]

And wept aloud- because after Jacob beheld the comely countenance
of Rachel with his very own eyes; and then having tasted with his lips the delicate
and sumptuous fruits of her innocent beauty, Jacob was simply overwhelmed; for
the surging’s of love had pierced his soul’s heart, and had granted to his
being a glimpse and taste of she who he had always longed for, and pined for,
with groans in the night. Wherefore it is written: “I loved her and sought her
from my youth, and I desired to take her for my bride, and I became enamored of
her beauty.” (Wis 8:2). This of course is but a dim shadow of the virginal yet
most passionate love held by St. Joseph for the Blessed Virgin Mary, She who is
the feminine Created Wisdom, Binah
–Understanding. This foreshadowing love between Jacob and Rachel took flesh in
the Patriarch Joseph, whilst the love between Jacob and Joseph was Rachel. On
the other hand, the Love between St. Joseph and Mary was the Child Jesus;
whilst the love between St. Joseph -icon of God the Father- and the Child
Jesus, was and is the Virgin Mary –icon of the Holy Spirit.

And wept aloud- since furthermore, it is said in Oral Torah that
Jacob’s kiss was a kiss of purity, and that most likely he kissed Rachel upon
the forehead. Jacob by kissing Rachel’s forehead, tasted the sweetness and
delight of the Divine Forehead: Divine Will –Keter; yet this sweetness was
mingled with the bitterness of sorrow, for Jacob foresaw, as Rashi states, that
Rachel would not be buried by his side, and that she would weep for her
children; wherefore through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord says: “A voice was heard on high of lamentation,
of mourning, and weeping, of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be
comforted for them, because they are not.” (Jer 31:15). Furthermore, in beholding
and kissing Rachel, Jacob received a portion of the sorrow and suffering of his
future son Joseph, as well as receiving a portion of the joy of seeing Joseph
in all his glory as Chancellor of Egypt; since in Rachel Jacob saw his son Joseph, and later on, in his son
Joseph, he saw Rachel. This alludes to St. Joseph who by uniting his Fiat to
that of Mary’s came to taste in his soul the delight of the Fruit of the Tree
of Life, that Fruit of Keter made flesh in Jesus. Yet mingled with this sweetness
of Divine Love was the bitterness of sorrow, the sorrow of Mary the Supernal
Rachel -made one with the grieving Spirit of God who mourns that Her children
live not in Divine Will- a sorrow which St. Joseph foretasted, and thus after
having pronounced his Fiat, he was not only inundated with overwhelming joy
but with profound sorrow. Through his Fiat he came to share not only in the
sorrow of Mary, but –as they are inseparable- in the sorrow and sufferings of
Jesus his adopted Son who was to be betrayed and crucified. Yet the tears of
St. Joseph were also tears of joy, for whilst tasting the bitterness of his son
Jesus’ future sorrow, he also tasted the future joy and glory of His Resurrection.
Thus it is written: And wept aloud.

Rachel Weeps

VI.The Pillars:
Malkut-Yesod-Tiferet-Keter

Now when one brings the etrog and the lulav together, left hand and right hand, one brings together Jacob
who is father and husband with Joseph who is son and heir. It is Rachel who is
mother and wife that brings about this union (mystically she with Shekinah
preserved Joseph’s life and led Jacob to him) between Jacob and Joseph, and in
turn the generations. Wherefore it is written: “These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph…” (Gen 37:2), without
the verse mentioning Jacob’s other sons, therefore Joseph and his lineage are
the generations of Jacob, and all his brothers flow from him because it is
written: “And Joseph caused his fathers
and his brothers to live” (Gen 47:11a).[8]
Thus we come to understand that it is Shekinah or Malkut that brings together
Tiferet and Yesod; and through them all the other Sephira (‘generations’) are
brought together, illumined and birthed. This is the significance of the bond
between Malkut-Yesod-Tiferet (Rachel-Joseph-Jacob; Mary-Jesus-Joseph); which
together with Keter-Divine Will form the ‘Pillars’ or ‘Central Column’ of the
Sephira.[9]
This is to say that it is the Virgin Mary that brings together St. Joseph and
the Child Jesus, and all other souls in this triune-bond are generated and birthed
into holiness, and above all, into the state of living in Divine Will (Keter).[10]
It is thus that the shaking of the lulav and
the etrog is symbolic of doing one’s
rounds in Divine Will, performed first by the Holy Family, and as espoused
through the private revelations of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.

The Sephira or Sephirot (In English and presented without New Age perversions): What in Hebrew is similar to what is understood as Energeia in Eastern Orthodox theology and Divine Attributes in western Catholic theology)

The ‘Pillars’ or ‘Central Column’
of the Sephira as mentioned above is in ascending order:
Malkut-Yesod-Tiferet-Keter (Da'at is not included). These four Sephira that compose the ‘Pillars’ can
be associated with the ‘Four Species’: arba
minim. In the mode of this understanding the etrog can be said to represent Keter as the fruit of Divine Will; whilst
Malkut-Yesod-Tiferet the three species that compose the lulav. Malkut/Shekinah is represented by the willow-aravah, since Malkut is associated with
the mouth as is the two branches of the willow. Yesod is represented by the myrtle-hadas, since the myrtle is associated
with the eyes and so is Yesod since it is written: “they had the foundation of this temple before their eyes” (Ezra
3:12). Tiferet in this perspective is thus represented by the lulav- palm frond, since Tiferet is
associated with the spine as is the lulav.
The following is two interpretations of who represents the ‘Central Column’,
the spine of the Divine Will (Keter) through which all come to receive and
enter into It’s activity; just as the limbs of a body receive the nervous
impulse from the head through the spine. Both interpretations (few of many
possible) are alternate perspectives of the single Truth.

Keter:Triune GodheadorJesus in His Humanity (Triune Godhead)

Tiferet:St.
JosephorVirgin Mary

Yesod:Jesus in His HumanityorSt. Joseph

Malkut:Virgin MaryorThe Little Daughter of the Divine Will

VII.The Significance of 36: Lulav, Etrog and Divine Will

The
first letter of aravah (willow), hadas (myrtle) and lulav, which together form the lulav,
leaves one with the letters: Ayin-Hey-Lamed. These letters make up the word עלה (Ayin-Lamed-Hey) which
can mean to come, ascend or mount up to God (Strong’s 5927: i.e. Song 3:6, 8:5). By forming an anagram from the first letter of
these letters (i.e. Ayin =Aleph, Hey =Hey) we are left with the anagram AHL,
using the letters Aleph-Hey-Lamed, which form the Hebrew word: Ahal, which
means to move a tent from place to place (i.e. Gen 13:13, 18).[11]
Furthermore, the gematria (absolute value: A=1, H=5, L=30) of AHL is 36, a number which is
associated with Divine Will-Keter, and of the highest sanctity of living in It.[12]
Since it is said in the Talmud that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden,
in the Divine Will –the Supernal Light- for but thirty-six hours. The word
light also appears 36 times in the Torah (first five books of the Bible).[13]
And Rachel is said to have died at the young age of 36. Fusing
the understandings drawn by both these anagrams (Ayin-Hey-Lamed and
Aleph-Hey-Lamed) of the three species that compose the lulav, we can say that the mystery of the lulav speaks of moving the tent of ones soul from height to height
in the sanctity of living in Divine Will.

The etrog represents the Food or Fruit of
Divine Will[14],
the Fruit of Keter, the Fruit of the Tree of Life: that very fruit which Adam
and Eve never were able to taste, for they chose instead the sensual food of
the Tree of Knowledge. Whilst the sweet apple can be said to be the Fruit of
the Tree of Life (the Divine Will) as it would have been experienced by man
prior the Fall; the etrog represents
the Fruit of the Tree of Life (the Divine Will) as it is experienced in this
life of exile: bitter, fragrant and overwhelming, though very good for the
health. In fact the etrog has been referred
to by the Greeks of old, as the Median Apple or the Golden Apple. The Rabbi’s
associate the etrog as ‘the fruit of
beautiful trees’ from the following verse in regards to Succoth, the Feast of
Tabernacles: “And you shall take on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of
leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord
your God seven days!” (Lev 23:40). Lastly, the lamed-vovniks, literally meaning the thirty-sixers, is a concept in
mystical Judaism that refers to the ‘thirty six hidden righteous ones’ which is
often interpreted as 36 righteous Tzadiks who live in each generation,
preserving the world from God’s Justice. However as espoused by the opinion of
Br. Gilbert Joseph, what the lamed-vovniks
really refers to is those who live in the Divine Will (Keter) and are
present mystically in every age through eternity. Amalgamating these many
varied concepts together, we come to an understanding that the blessing over
the arba minim is a devotional means
and symbol of invoking the Divine Will, to reign in us as it did in Adam and
Eve. The shaking of the lulav and the
etrog symbolises doing one’s rounds
–fusing oneself with the activity of the Divine Will- in Divine Will, which takes
one from glory to glory, sanctity to sanctity, or in other words as the word
Ahal (equals 36) means: to move one’s tent from place to place. This is done so
that one might come to taste the Supernal
Etrog of permanently living in Divine Will, as a lamed-vovnik: aswould
have Adam and Eve if they remained faithful until past the Sabbath, yet as did
St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary (and modern holy ones such as Luisa Piccarreta,
St. Padre Pio etc.) –and of course as
did Jesus who is the Supernal Etrog, He
the Fruit of Keter who is made available to us in the Holy Eucharist. This
amalgamation, though poorly expressed, is most poignant because it relates many
mysteries together, including that of the arba
minim, Succoth, the Garden of Eden, the Holy Family, the lamed-vovniks, and the highest state of
sanctity of living in Divine Will.

VIII.The Spiritual Fecundity and
Blessings of the Divine Will

Eve, Rachel and Mary in Her
office as Mother of the Church are associated with Malkut or Shekinah. Adam,
Jacob and St. Joseph as Father of the Church are associated with Tiferet. The
Fruit of Divine Will (Supernal Etrog)
and Jesus in His Divinity is associated with Keter; whilst Joseph the Patriarch
and Jesus in His Humanity is associated with Yesod.

It is held in Jewish belief
that the etrog is a source of
blessing for fertility and childbirth. Indeed this bears significance when
Jacob is understood to represent the etrog,
he who was most fruitful and was promised to have countless descendants. Similarly
as Rachel is associated with the etrog,
those who suffer from barrenness or infertile, shall like her overcome this
obstacle through the blessing of the etrog.
This is a mystical way of saying that through Mary and Joseph who are one with
Jesus the Supernal Etrog, one shall
become fruitful in the spiritual life and bear many sons and daughters –that is,
Divine Lives which are mystical duplications of Jesus in each and every word,
thought and deed; just as Jesus is present in many Eucharistic Hosts.

The stem of the etrog faces up during the blessing,
since it symbolises the heart or womb of the Daughter of Zion: the soul, Mary and
the Church, receiving the blessing of the Divine Will. The stem faces down,
with the pitam (brown tip) facing up, resembling a breast, during the waving of
the lulav and etrog since whilst one does their rounds in Divine Will, they, or rather
the Divine Will in, with and through them, is pouring out blessings of Celestial
Milk upon the whole world: past, present and future; whilst feeding God with
His very own bounty, as did the Virgin Mary to the Child Jesus.

The Virgin Mary Nursing the Child Jesus

IX.Final Notations Concerning the Lulav and the Etrog

The etrog
symbolises the heart of Jesus the Masculine Adam Kadmon, as well as the heart
of Mary the Feminine Adam Kadmon. These two hearts are one in flesh and thus
cannot be separated or considered dividable. In this instance perhaps the lulav itself can represent the soul,
with the three willow branches symbolising the faculties of the intellect,
memory and the will; and the two myrtles, the phantasy and the imagination: all
of which must be fused to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The arba
minim (Four Species) represents the Four Living Creatures or Four Hayot;
mentioned in Ezikiel chapters 1 and 10; and in Revelation 4:6-8. Mystically
these four can be said to refer to the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) and
the very little one who is the daughter of the Divine Will.

The three branches of the myrtle can be said to
symbolise the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and/or the Holy Family
–the three myrtle eyes that lived in Divine Will.

The ‘Four Species’ consist of seven items
altogether, which can be said to represent the lower seven Sephira. However in
line with the main perspective offered by this short treatise, we can consider
its relation in regards to the sons of Jacob. The species are four (dalet) and
the number of items total seven (zayin), whilst there are but two main species
(beit); added together this equals 13. The seven items represent the seven children
of Leah; and the four species represent the two sons of Bilah and the two sons
of Zilpah; whilst the two main species (lulav
as a whole and the etrog)
represent Joseph and Benjamin respectively.

[1]Often
Rachel is interpreted to mean ewes, that is the plural of female sheep. Yet this
is but one of many meanings. Rachel can also mean ‘Fortress of the Spirit’
since Spirit-Ruach (Resh-Vav-Chet)
and Fortress-Chel (Chet-Yod-Lamed)
together can form Ruch-chel which is in similitude to the pronunciation of
Rachel in Hebrew: Raw-kale. Thus Rachel
and her name is a significant archetype of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[3]Why
is Isaac associated with Rachel? Because it was Isaac who sent Jacob to find a
wife, and thus Isaac is responsible for the encounter between Jacob and Rachel;
therefore it is the left hand of Gevurah/Justice that leads to the encounter
between Shekinah and Tiferet. After all, Jacob encountered Rachel because of
the justness of heeding his father Isaac’s command. However it was Abraham who
caused this encounter to lead to a union made flesh in Joseph, since this bond
is the fruit of the original covenant that was made with Abraham. Therefore it
is the right hand of Hesed/Mercy that leads to and results in the union
(Yesod-Joseph) of Rachel the Bride of Shekinah with Jacob the Bridegroom of
Tiferet.

[4]Kabbalah
is part of the mystical tradition of Oral Torah, and although many new age
wackos twist and pervert Kabbalah in a diabolical fashion, it is when treated
as it ought to be (i.e. by Orthodox Judaism), a source of profound wisdom and
insight which Catholic’s such as the Doctor of the Church: St. Lawrence of Brindisi,
took great advantage of, since he understood its significance and relevance.

[7]John
Paul II, Redemptoris Custos: On the
Person and Mission of St. Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church,
Apostolic Exhortation, 7.

[8] Furthermore there is the dream of Joseph: “I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and
the moon, and eleven stars were bowing themselves to me.”(Gen 37:9). The
sun being Jacob a type of St. Joseph, and the moon Rachel a type of our Lady.

[9]This is one means of understanding the Holy
Family in regards to the Sephira, especially in regards to the lower functioning
of the Holy Family and God in Christ in the earthly realm. Otherwise Keter can
be understood as Jesus, Hokhmah as St. Joseph and Binah as Mary; whilst the
three heads or sparkling lights of Keter could be said to correspond to the Three Persons of the
One God, and could correspond in the following manner: AIN (Nothing)-God the Son; AIN SOPH (Limitless)–God the Father; and
AIN SOPH AUR (Limitless Light) –God the Holy Spirit.

[10]Of
course St. Joseph generates sanctity in souls only insofar as he is the chosen
instrument of God the Father to carry this work out; and Mary births souls into
the sanctity of Divine Will only insofar as She is the chosen instrument of the
Holy Spirit. Together Mary and Joseph form souls into living images of Jesus.

[12]36
is akin to the absolute value of the same words that mean: tabernacle, tent,
Palace of the Sun (reminds one of St. Teresa of Avila’s innermost Mansion), dwelling
place, the temple; and to be bright, to gleam and shine- just like the blessed
in Paradise and like Adam and Eve in the beginning.